Arnot-Roberts

One barrel in a basement

Meyers and Roberts have known each other since childhood. Both grew up in the early 1980s in Napa Valley, surrounded by vineyards, but they were far removed from the wine industry. At the time, the region was still in its formative stages, so their families worked as chefs, barrel makers, teachers, and lawyers, among other professions.

After graduating from college, the two went their separate ways for a while. Roberts joined his father in the family trade, making oak barrels. Meyers worked as a winemaker in Napa and Sonoma, and also spent some time at Caymus and Groth.

In 2001, they made a single barrel of wine in a basement in Healdsburg, and that was the beginning of Arnot-Roberts. Growth came gradually, not through grand plans, but by steadily expanding one vineyard at a time.

The timing was right. At the time, California was primarily promoting wines that were overripe, high in alcohol, and intensely fruity, while at Meyers and Roberts, people were spending their time sipping wines imported by Bay Area merchants, Jura from Jacques Puffeney, as well as Syrah wines from Cornas and Côte-Rôtie. Those bottles of wine set the direction for the wines they wanted to create, and eventually, Arnot-Roberts became one of the leading examples of the more restrained California style that followed.

Caitlin Quinn joined as an assistant winemaker in 2015. Raised in the San Luis Obispo wine region, she already had over 15 years of experience making wine in California and abroad, and it was Syrah that drew her to this winery.

The vineyards

Arnot-Roberts does not own vineyards in the conventional sense. The winery's portfolio consists of more than 24 vineyards scattered throughout the California region, each managed by an individual grower. The winery's role begins with selecting outstanding vineyards and maintaining close relationships with their growers.

North Coast supplies the majority of the grapes. For Syrah in the Sonoma Coast region, grapes come from Baker Lane, Solas, and Que Syrah; Heaven and Earth are used for Pinot Noir; Clary Ranch and Lichau Hill are used for Petaluma Gap; Clajeux and Persia are used for Chalk Hill; Montecillo is for Moon Mountain, Bedrock is for Sonoma Valley, and Luchsinger is for Lake County. Napa Valley has two: Bengier, which supplies Ribolla Gialla, and Watson Ranch, which supplies Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc.

As you go further out, the map gets even stranger. El Dorado is represented by Barsotti and Witters, while Zinfandel is derived from Kirschenmann within Mokelumne River AVA, and Touriga Nacional originates from St. Amant and St. Jorge.

Santa Cruz Mountains encompasses four locations, of which Fellom Ranch represents Cabernet Sauvignon, and Peter Martin Ray represents Pinot Noir. Central Coast includes Fox Creek within Carmel Valley, as well as Sanford and Benedict within Santa Rita Hills. Some of these cultivation sites are long-established and cultivated using non-irrigated methods, while others have been recently established.

Rock, granite and a lot of elevation

Because it spans so many AVAs, there is no single, distinct Arnot-Roberts terroir. The common characteristics of these vineyards are a tendency toward thin, stony, or sandy soils and conditions that help preserve acidity.

Luchsinger is situated in the Clear Lake AVA region on rocky volcanic soil at an elevation of approximately 425 meters. St. Amant is planted on sandy granite loam at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Amador County. St. Jorge, located in the Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA region, grows in granitic alluvial soil and is swept by steady breezes blowing in from the delta, a crucial factor for the late-ripening Portuguese variety, which needs some heat to mature.

In the North Coast region, this pattern repeats with some variations. Bedrock's Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are produced on rocky soils in the heart of Sonoma Valley. Persia is situated in a secluded valley formed by the rocky terrain of Chalk Hill. Lichau Hill, located in the wind-exposed Petaluma Gap, adds bright fruit notes and high-toned aromas to the blend.

Taken together, these vineyards were selected for their tension rather than their intensity. This is the central theme that runs through the entire lineup.

The grape varieties

California's reputation is based on a limited list of varieties. Arnot-Roberts covers a wide range of varieties, and that list continues to change as new sites are added.

• Cabernet Sauvignon: Derived from Chalk Hill, Moon Mountain, Santa Cruz Mountains, and Petaluma Gap
• Syrah: A variety that supports the Sonoma Coast side of this range
• Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
• Sauvignon Blanc, derived from Yorkville Highlands and Santa Cruz Mountains
• Trousseau, and Gamay Noir, derived from El Dorado
• Ribolla Gialla: A white Friulian variety, planted in the Napa Valley
• Touriga Nacional: A variety that, along with Trincadeira and Tinta Cão, forms the Portuguese lineage
• Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Falanghina

Since most bottled products are single-varietal, blends are the exception. One of the blended wines is California Red Wine. The third vintage consisted of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and 17% Cabernet Franc, sourced from four separate vineyards. These proportions vary by vintage.

The winemaking

The winemaking process at Arnot-Roberts is intentionally based on the principle of minimal intervention. Fermentation is carried out using indigenous yeasts, the use of new oak barrels is kept to a minimum, and for red wines that highlight the fruit's characteristics, whole clusters are used.

The grapes are harvested by hand, and each lot is managed separately, fermented individually, and blended later. For California Red Wine, grapes from four vineyards are aged for 10 months in neutral French oak barrels and concrete tanks before bottling, ensuring that the oak aromas remain in the background.

The rosé wine showcases this approach from a different angle. The grapes are lightly crushed by foot before pressing to extract a subtle color, then fermented with native yeasts and undergo complete, natural malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Blending takes place afterward, and the wine is bottled in early January.

Underlying this entire process are the years Roberts spent working as a cooper. When the key is to ensure the barrel's presence remains unobtrusive, knowing how barrels are made is extremely useful.

The wines

The collection is centered around single-vineyard wines, and looking at the labels is like looking at a map of California. Within the Cabernet Sauvignons lineup, there are Clajeux Vineyard from Chalk Hill, Montecillo Vineyard from Moon Mountain, and Fellom Ranch from Santa Cruz Mountains. Pinot Noir is produced from Heaven and Earth Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast, as well as Peter Martin Ray in Santa Cruz Mountains. Syrah appears both as a single-vineyard wine produced from Clary Ranch in Petaluma Gap and Que Syrah in West Sonoma Coast, and as a pure Syrah bottled wine made from grapes sourced from multiple vineyards.

The white wines and unique varieties are the most intriguing part of this lineup. Ascona Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc and Watson Ranch Chardonnay sit alongside Bengier Vineyard Ribolla Gialla, which is made from the Friulian variety planted in the Napa Valley vineyard. There is also the pale-colored Jura red wine, which receives little attention in the Trousseau and California regions, as well as Kirschenmann Vineyard Zinfandel, from the Mokelumne River AVA region. Watson Ranch Cabernet Franc is produced at the same Napa farm as Chardonnay.

Rounding out the lineup is California Red Wine, an appellation blend made in a more approachable style that pairs well with food.

In addition, Arnot-Roberts produces the California rosé wine, based on Touriga Nacional, works with Gamay Noir from El Dorado and Santa Cruz Mountains, and the vineyard list also includes Falanghina and the Old Vine White.